How do you make me buy when I don’t want to buy ?

You can’t.

Really. No ad you make. No Facebook page you run. No twitter handle you create. No search words you buy, no display banners you pop up. None of these can make me buy something which I really do not want.

Addition: Even my friends recommendations cannot make me buy something I do not want. So no the Facebook like’s or sponsored stories won’t work.

Example: I do not really want to buy a house now. Because I cannot afford it with ease. No marketing campaign will be able to sell it to me. But one day a few years from now I will be ready to make the purchase. At that time, whoever gives me the best product coupled with the best experience will make the sale.

But often one comes across phrases like demand generation. ( creating demand where there is none) 

Can we really generate demand via marketing? 

No.

The demand exists.

The products and services which make the cut get sold to the buyers who want it. Need versus Availability aligned to experience.

Marketing can help create the experience around a product or a service- from supply chain to point of sale , from Google search to Facebook likes. But ultimately it can only harvest a demand that is existing.

A great product, service or experience can generate demand.  But marketing can do very little around creating great products and services.

IT can only enhance the experience.

SO LET’S JUST KEEP IT SIMPLE. LET’S JUST TRY TO HARVEST A DEMAND THAT IS THERE.

Let’s not get very ambitious and try to generate demand.

If we can just reach the person who is ready to buy a product at the moment when he is looking for it, I think that’s a job well done. To ensure that we are in his mind recall when he makes the decision to buy, let’s ensure we have an awareness campaign all set replete with Facebook likes, paid for search words and promoted tweets.